Alaska Airlines is Selling a Flight Subscription from $49 per Month

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Alaska Airlines recently launched a new “Flight Pass” subscription service starting from $49 per month. Frequent travelers can lock in fares for flights along the West Coast when signing up for a package of up to 24 roundtrip flights a year. The annual plans can save certain travelers money but you’ll want to know all of the details before jumping on this deal.

Where Can You Fly with Alaska Airlines Flight Pass?

The flight pass is valid for travel on 100 daily flights from 16 airports throughout California, Nevada, and Arizona.

From Burbank (BUR)

• Santa Rosa (STS)

From Fresno (FAT)

• Los Angeles (LAX)
• San Diego (SAN)

From Las Vegas (LAS)

• Los Angeles (LAX)
• San Francisco (SFO)

From Los Angeles (LAX)

• Fresno (FAT)
• Las Vegas (LAS)
• Reno (RNO)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• San Jose (SJC)
• Santa Rosa (STS)

From Monterey (MRY)

• San Diego (SAN)

From Palm Springs (PSP)

• San Francisco (SFO)
• San Jose (SJC)

From Phoenix (PHX)

• San Francisco (SFO)

From Reno (RNO)

• Los Angeles (LAX)

From Sacramento (SMF)

• San Diego (SAN)

From San Diego (SAN)

• Fresno (FAT)
• Monterey (MRY)
• Santa Barbara (SBA)
• San Luis Obispo (SBP)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• San Jose (SJC)
• Sacramento (SMF)

From San Francisco (SFO)

• Las Vegas (LAS)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Phoenix (PHX)
• Palm Springs (PSP)
• San Diego (SAN)
• Santa Ana (SNA)

From San Jose (SJC)

• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Palm Springs (PSP)
• San Diego (SAN)

From San Luis Obispo (SBP)

• San Diego (SAN)

From Santa Ana (SNA)

• San Francisco (SFO)

From Santa Barbara (SBA)

• San Diego (SAN)

From Santa Rosa (STS)

• Burbank (BUR)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• San Diego (SAN)

Flight Pass Plans

You can choose from two types of subscriptions based on how far in advance you’re able to make travel plans. The “Flight Pass” starts from $49 per month and requires you to book flights at least 14 days in advance of travel, while the “Flight Pass Pro” starts from $199 per month and allows flights to be booked anytime up to two hours before departure.

Flight Pass – 14-day advanced booking required

The cost of a Flight Pass depends on how many roundtrip flights you’d like to be included in your subscription.

• $49/month for 1 roundtrip flight every 2 months (6 total)
• $99/month for 1 roundtrip flight every month (12 total)
• $189/month for 2 roundtrip flights every month (24 total)

Flight Pass Pro – No advanced booking required

• $199/month for 1 roundtrip flight every 2 months (6 total)
• $399/month for 1 roundtrip flight every month (12 total)
• $749/month for 2 roundtrip flights every month (24 total)

The plans require an annual agreement to pay the monthly fee for one full year and you’ll need to call and cancel before the end of the year. Otherwise, it will auto-renew.

Flight credits allow you to purchase most flights for a nominal $0.01 fare each way plus airport taxes and fees, which will normally amount to $29.20 roundtrip. Alaska states on its website that “some very popular flights may require a higher fare.”

I would expect this to mean that peak travel times and flights—such as flying to Vegas on a Friday evening—will not always be $0.01 fares and you’ll still have to pay a premium to fly on the most in-demand flights.

How to Book a Flight with Flight Pass

Once your card has been charged, credits will be deposited into your account on a monthly or bi-monthly basis depending on the plan you’ve chosen. Credits cannot be used for one-way travel—one credit will be valid for one roundtrip ticket on a nonstop itinerary.

To book, you’ll just visit the flight pass website, log-in to your account, search for eligible flights, and pay any fares, taxes, and fees associated with those flights.

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Flight credits expire whenever new credits are deposited in your account. This just means you’ll need to book a flight before each credit expires—you don’t necessarily need to travel before it expires. You’ll be able to book flights up to 90 days in advance so you’re able to book future trips if you don’t plan to travel in a certain month.

What Type of Fare is Booked? Are Changes Allowed?

All flights booked with Flight Pass credits are booked into Alaska’s Main economy fare bucket, which is a step above its lowest Saver (basic economy) fares. This means you’ll get free standard seat selection, earn 100% of the miles flown, be eligible for upgrades, and are able to change flights for free after booking.

For flight changes, you’ll need to call the Flight Pass hotline at 1-888-885-0155. All changes must be within the eligible markets and follow the advance-purchase requirements of your pass. You can also cancel a Flight Pass reservation and have the credit redeposited into your account as long as the original credit has not yet expired.

Is the Alaska Airlines Flight Pass a Deal?

On the face of it, the Flight Pass seems like a decent deal if you plan to take several flights within California, Arizona, and Nevada over the next year and don’t want to deal with variable pricing.

If you’re able to get all of the flights you plan to take for the $0.01 nominal fare plus taxes and fees, the $49/month Flight Pass plan comes out to a total of $127.22 per roundtrip ticket. This total, per-trip price is very similar for the other Flight Pass plans that require a 14-day advance purchase, ranging from $123 – $128, according to the pricing table in the Flight Pass terms.

Sale fares for Main economy tickets purchased in advance do fall as low as $49 one-way fairly often on some of the most competitive routes, such as between San Francisco and San Diego. However, the lowest prices are often limited to travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, and during off-peak travel periods such as the late spring or fall shoulder seasons.

If you’re looking to travel in the summer or during weekends, it’s likely that the Flight Pass will provide excellent savings, though you’ll be locked-in to flying roundtrip on Alaska Airlines and won’t be able to choose a competitor that might have a more convenient flight option.

For frequent travelers that need flexibility and often book travel on the day of departure, the Flight Pass Pro could save a significant amount of money. Walk-up fares can often run as high as $499 one-way, which means a Flight Pass Pro booking that costs between $403 – $427 per roundtrip would be extremely valuable in these scenarios.

Bottom Line

Alaska Airlines’ Fight Pass is not the first time we’ve seen a flight subscription service. JetBlue used to offer an “All You Can Jet Pass” as recently as 2019. And Volaris, a Mexican discount carrier, has a similar v.pass that includes monthly flights within Mexico.

It remains to be seen if this type of service could take off and whether or not travelers find value in Alaska’s new subscription service. Since the flight passes only apply to flights within three states, it won’t be valuable for everyone. But, if you have plans to travel frequently in California, Arizona, and Nevada, it’s worth taking a look at this new way to book Alaska Airlines flights.

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